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Ten Tables is a very nice, quiet, smaller spot that uses local seasonal ingredients, for nicely prepared, very fresh food. Henrietta's table is a larger, nosier, very reasonable spot with good comfort food.

Hi YK! Mostly hanging on Facebook, lol. Haven't been here much at all. Not too fussy about location - my son is in Somerville again this summer and we'll be staying with our friends in Arlington. I'll check out menus for those. Our friends suggested Chez Henri and Tryst (Arlington). Both looked pretty fancy.

We've dined in Chez Henri maybe 1-2 yrs ago, not a place I would consider going back. Food was okay but just not good enough to bring me back. And I can't stand their '80s era carpet.

Haven't been to Tryst - have you checked Tryst review on Chowhound?

If your son is in Somerville, I really, really would recommend Bergamot. I had my b-day dinner there last year, and considered going back there again this year, but I decided I want to try some place new.

Since it's kind of last minute and you have a big group for Sat night, you may also want to check out Journeyman in Somerville (Union Sq). I also considered going there for my b-day dinner, but it was closed for 2 months after an SUV ran into the storefront. It just opened for business again this week. Because of that, you may be able to secure a reservation there since many people may not know it has reopened.

P.S. Ten Tables in Cambridge should be a good choice too. I've only eaten at the Ten Tables in Jamaica Plain. The food there was v good BUT every dish was too salty. Since the Cambridge place has different chefs, it shouldn't have the same problem.

I want to second the recommendation for Bergamot. I really liked it a lot. I keep meaning to go back, but its impossible to get a reservation.

I don't know if Harvest is too pricey, but I like it. Its kind of more staid than some of these other places, at least in terms of the food. But I always have a nice meal and good service, and I like the patio.

One of the Cambridge places on my to-do list is Bondir. Its gotten tremendous reviews.

Have not been to Bondir, Bergamot, or the Cambridge incarnation of Ten Tables, though all I've heard has been good. Liked my meal at the Jamaica Plain location of Ten Tables, though. Craigie on Main, Garden at the Cellar, and Hungry Mother are also supposed to be excellent -- again, haven't been.

Suggested options of Harvest, EVOO, Rendezvous, and Oleana are all excellent, if not cheap eats. Other pricy but good Cambridge options include Salts, Rialto, Casablanca, Sandrine's, Upstairs on the Square, Chez Henri, and Blue Room (this last does a nice Sunday brunch). Rafiki Bistro, Temple Bar, and West Side Lounge are a little cheaper than these. East Coast Grill is also a touch less expensive, and does splendid BBQ and island-style seafood. Frank's Steak House does the best locally re blue-collar priced steakhouse fare. Dolphin Seafood does very good and reasonably priced sit-down seafood. Worthy cheaper options include River Gods (inspired bar food), Darwin's (sandwiches), Charlie's Kitchen (good dive bar eats), B Good (healthy style fast food), Mr. and Mrs. Bartley's (burgers), Flat Patties (burgers and such), Emma's (gourmet pizza), Friendly Toast (breakfast style fare), and Cheddar's or Armando's or The Half Shell (more standard style pizza and subs). Toscanini's and Emack and Bolio's do wonderfully good ice cream -- some also like Christina's or Lizzy's or J.P. Lick's, but I'm not so much a fan.

Looking at this list, I'm reminded how god the dining options are in Cambridge...better than Boston, I think.

I forgot about East Coast grill...it's a longtime favorite of mine. But I haven't been for quite some time, and recent reviews, particularly on chowhound have not been so good. Bachslunch, have you gone in the last year?

china_cat, I was last at East Coast Grill a little over a year ago and liked my meal very much. I got the pork spareribs at the time. I haven't been more recently than that.

I did a quick peek over at Chowhound about this place. While I did see some thoughts about a downhill experience from a few posters there, I also saw some recent posts of the "good as always" kind in rebuttal. Failing a return visit, I can't say for sure, though over the years I've had consistently excellent experiences there.

I agree that dining in Cambridge is superior to Boston. Unfortunately I learned that while up there for my daughter's graduation, and decided to explore Cambridge restaurants after 4 years of repeatedly being disappointed with Boston ones. Now that my Boston connection is back at home, I don't expect to take any trips to that area any time soon.

Since my daughter moved to Cambridge, I have been to a few very nice places in the last year. Very much enjoyed Hungry Mother (but you have to plan ahead for reservations), Ten Tables, East Coast Grill, Tupelo. But I give the nod to Rendezvous.

Our group grew to 8 and I was unable to get reservations at the several places I tried from here. Hopefully if we get there at a non-birthday time we can try them (I really wanted to try Henriettas, Ten Tables, and East Coast).

We ended up at Flora in Arlington and they were doing restaurant week all August and I loved it. We had a very nice meal and it was reasonably priced.

Thanks everybody!

(ps I always forget how bad the traffic is there. We left Sunday in all that rain and the pike was stop and go past Worcester. Yikes.)